


What's in a Name?

by DistracttheGoddess



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, College AU, F/M, Fluffy, Modern Thedas, One Shot, sten/rice cooker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-27
Updated: 2017-03-27
Packaged: 2018-10-11 12:47:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10465377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DistracttheGoddess/pseuds/DistracttheGoddess
Summary: Vhella Tabris and Leliana, poor college students, sneak into a frat party for snacks, but Vhella gets caught up in an extravagant lie.





	

“Leliana, I'm starving. What do we have at the apartment?” Vhella whined, leaning her forehead against the redhead's shoulder.

“We have Antivan take out from probably a month ago, and half a bag of uncooked rice. Which I still can't figure out where came from. I know we don't have a rice cooker in the kitchen. Do you think Sten keeps one in his room? You'd think he'd store the rice with it though.” Leliana replied. The elf against her arm whined pitifully. 

“Rent's due tomorrow. Is shelter more important than food on the hierarchy of needs?”

Leliana laughed at the girl's forlorn attitude. “Or perhaps, we can have both.” When Vhella looked up, she pointed to the busy frat house down the street and across the way. “There's always an excess of food at those kinds of parties. And it's not like the Amgarrak frat would have a guest list.” She laughed at her own joke. “I'm sure we can sneak in and abscond with a few treats unnoticed.”

Loud rock music could be heard, even from this far away and people milled on the lawn as well as circulated in and out of the house. It would be an easy thing for the two of them to flit in and out. Vhella bit her thumbnail. “What's the plan?”

“We find the kitchen, grab goodies and escape back to the relative comfort of out tiny apartment. Then maybe raid Sten's room to find that rice cooker.”

Vhella snorted. “Alright, what's the worst that could happen? We get caught and we're no longer allowed in the gilded halls of Amgarrak? I think I can live with that.”

Sneaking in was as easy as walking. No one was paying any attention to the door. 

Vhella was joking about the gilded halls, but she wasn't far off. This place was swanky. The downstairs area was fairly open. There seemed to be a lot of dancing in the main room off the foyer. The frat house had a foyer. A foyer! What kind of next level nonsense? This place was bananas.

Other, smaller groups hung about around kegs or the bar near the fireplace. And then she saw it. A glorious beacon of desire if she'd ever seen one. The snack table. Vhella broke off from Leliana without a word. Donuts to chips to a nacho cheese fountain; this table was sent from the maker directly to her. 

She heard Leliana's soft chuckle from behind her. Sheepishly, Vhella turned to face her with a mouth full of donut. The redhead just smiled. “I'll find the kitchen, then I'll head back to the apartment. Just meet me there when you're done.” She took a tiny cake and sauntered through the crowd, looking for all intents and purposes like she belonged there.

Now that she had the run of the snack table to herself and the donut had taken the gnawing of the hunger, she wasn't sure what to try next. She was eyeing the cheese fountain when a tall boy stepped up next to her. 

A sudden sense of insecurity crawled up her spine. She was a lone girl at a frat party. A lone elf girl at a frat party she wasn't even invited to. She didn't belong here. The insecurity had started to give to panic when he spoke.

“So how do you know Cailan?” he said as he took a hunk of bread and dipped it into the cheese fountain.

And just like that, his casual demeanor melted her anxiety. “What now?” she asked inarticulately around the leftover donut.

He smiled. “Cailan? You're at his coronation. He's the king. Well, the Homecoming King anyway.” 

She swallowed. “Oh, sorry, I didn't quite hear you the first time. It's pretty loud in here.” Vhella said. Excellent cover. Leliana would be so impressed. How did she know Cailan? Crap. Crapcrapcrap. What's plausible and easy to fake? “I'm, uh, I'm dating his brother.” Yeah, that's neither of those things. Shit. Leliana would not be impressed. This is fine.

The tawny haired boy's eyebrow cocked up at that. “You're dating Alistair, are you? Funny, I don't think he's mentioned seeing anyone.”

“Yeah, we're trying to keep everything on the down low. All secretive and whatnot.” She quickly stuffed a cube of bread in her mouth to keep herself from blurting out more nonsense.

“Oh, must be quite the secret.” His eyes were sparkling with mirth and he had a cocky half smile. It looked really good on him. Shame she was dating this Alistair bloke. Hope he's nice, she thought idly.

She nodded, mouth still full of bread. 

“How long have the two of you been together?” 

“Oh, not very long.” For some reason, this comment made him laugh.

“Yeah, that's what I figured.” A redheaded dwarf strolled by, pulling an entire keg behind him on a dolly with an incredibly long straw poking out of a crudely made hole at the top.

The copper eyed boy suddenly looked alarmed. “Oh, maker, how did Oghren get into the kegs? Excuse me.” he added absently and quickly followed after the fragrant dwarf.

Seeing this as her opportunity to escape unscathed, she quickly headed for the door. She hadn't even made it halfway when her new friend met back up with her.

“That was quick.”

“I pawned him off on our house mother. Are you leaving already?” he said, falling into step. “Not going to kiss Alistair goodbye?”

“It's not really a secret relationship if I go kiss him in front of everyone is it?” 

“Shame. I'm pretty sure he'd like that. Kissing pretty girls is a favorite of his I'm told.”

“Hmm. I'm sure he'll be fine. I'll just kiss him later, if he's good.” She was almost starting to have fun with the bantering, but Leliana would be waiting on her. 

“Oh, if he's good? I have it on excellent authority that Alistair is a very good boy. He definitely deserves kisses. I'll tell you what, you can kiss me and I'll make sure he gets it.”

Vhella stopped short. “Are you propositioning me? I thought you were friends with Alistair?”

“I mean, to say we're friends would be weird. You could say I'm fond of him though. We do have a lot in common.”

She turned to him slowly, dread pooling in her chest. “What's your name?”

He smiled mischievously. “Alistair.”

Both hands flew up to cover her face, which she was sure had turned a vibrant shade of scarlet. “Maker's mercy... you're Cailan's brother. I just tried to lie to you. About dating you...”

He gently pulled her hands from her face. “Don't be embarrassed. This is probably the cutest thing that's ever happened to me. And I once saved a Mabari puppy from a barn cat. He peed on me though, so that memory is a little tainted.” 

She laughed in spite of her mortification. He was still holding her hands, but she didn't pull away. 

“So about that goodbye kiss?” he said, dipping his head down slightly, but staying far enough away that she would have to lean in to kiss him. 

“Oh, no. I said I'd kiss you if you were good. But you weren't good. You're very naughty.”

“I'm only a little naughty. Naughty boys need kisses too.”

She rocked onto her tiptoes, their lips meeting in a soft, chaste kiss. “I suppose they do.”

“I don't think that's how you're supposed to kiss a naughty boy.” he said, leaning back in and pulling her flush against him in a more aggressive kiss.

Surprise had her pulling her hands from his, but instead of using them to push him away, she slid them around his neck. Her tongue sliding into his mouth drew a groan from him. His hands grip her sides but don't venture lower. She could tell from the way his fingertips danced along her hips though, that he wanted them to.

Their tongues danced slowly, twirling and gliding against each other building an easy heat in Vhella's chest. One of her hands slides down to his firm chest and pushes him away just enough to break the kiss, but not the embrace. 

“Yeah, that's how you kiss naughty boys.” he said, leaning his forehead against hers. “You know, I still haven't caught your name.”

She smiled impishly. “No, I guess you haven't.” She backed away. “Huh, what an interesting development.”

“Wait!” he called as she continued to back up. “I want to see you again.”

She laughed gleefully. “I guess you'll have to find me.” she said as she shrugged and left him to the darkness. 

He touched his lips as he watched her figure walk away. “Oh, count on it.”

**Author's Note:**

> BASED ON: “I sneaked in to this huge house party for some free food but you asked me how I knew the host and the first excuse I could think of was that I’m dating their sibling, so basically I just lied to you about going out with you” au
> 
> I'm kind of into this world, but this is all I currently have planned for it, so unless there's a demand for it, this is probably all that will come of it. 
> 
> Comments are always appreciated! :)


End file.
